ITV (LON:ITV) profits fell sharply last year, after the British broadcaster suffered from a fall in TV advertising.
Pre-tax profits dropped by more than 10 per cent to £500 million in 2017, amid a stark fall in TV advertising revenue.
TV advertising, which accounts for roughly half of its revenues, dropping 5 percent to £1.6 billion.
Back in July, ITV noted the fall in advertising revenues, witnessing the sharpest fall since 2008.
In spite of the success of various ITV shows over the course of the last year, such as Victoria, Broadchurch and Love Island, profit was heavily impacted by the downturn trend in advertising revenues.
Moreover, the broadcaster continues to feel the pressure from online streaming services such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon Prime, which continue to produce their own programmes and continue to command larger budgets.
ITV’s chief executive, Carolyn McCall, attributed the disappointing performance to “ongoing economic and political uncertainty”, which deterred brands from investing in advertising campaigns.
“The uncertainty has undoubtedly had an impact on the demand for television advertising and therefore as expected ITV’s financial performance,” she commented.
Nevertheless, McCall expects ad revenue to be up 1 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, benefiting from the popularity of the football in the second quarter.
Notably, the World Cup, which ITV shares the rights to alongside the BBC, starts in June.
Prior to joining ITV back in July, McCall headed EasyJet (LON:EZJ) for seven years.
Shares are currently trading down 6.26 percent as of 13.24PM, as investors react to the update.
Elsewhere in the markets, both retailers Toys R Us and Maplin have gone into administration, after failing to find a buyer in time.
Consequently, 5,500 people’s job are now at risk, despite stores remaining in operation ‘until further notice’.
Both retailers have blamed a tough retail trading environment, alongside the devaluation of the pound which took a hit on profits.